Rhames to Play Sonny Liston in 'Phantom Punch'

The man who made one lone bandaid look like the most badass thing around is going to take on an infamous heavyweight role. The Hollywood Reporter has posted that Ving Rhames is going to star as boxer Sonny Liston in the upcoming biopic Phantom Punch. Writer/actor/director Ryan Combs wrote the screenplay, and the film is being directed by Robert Townsend (writer, director, and star of The Meteor Man). The film will cover Liston's success as a boxer, and include that "phantom punch" that brought him down.

Townsend says: "The thing is that certain people are born to play certain roles and Ving has always gravitated toward Sonny Liston's story. This is his baby, and he's giving birth to it. He's already playing the character at so many levels." Liston's the guy who went up against Cassius Clay/Mohammed Ali and was brought down by the infamous "phantom punch," which was then immortalized on a Sports Illustrated cover. That's really got to suck for a man who won by knock out 39 of his 54 fights, and only lost 4. Instead of being most remembered for that, he's the guy who snoozed in the ring. But boxing isn't all that Rhames will have to take on. Before getting in the ring, Liston's predilection towards fighting got him sent to prison twice, and there's also ties to the mob to deal with. Production began this week in Toronto, and is scheduled to wrap in the beginning of December.